Mazeltov Classmates for our 25th!

Here we were, way back in the last century.

And five years later, the ordinands of 1996 at Emanu-El.

Mazal tov to us all, 25 years later. Doctor of Divinity, honoris causa. So many different journeys. Stay safe and well everyone, and hopefully one day we may have our reunion in person!

 

Say it Ain't So, Nigella!

O Nigella, tell me you were joking ... maybe you just binge-watched several series of 'Allo 'Allo ...

I have arrived very late to this meme, and now must feed my procrastination by googling Nigella's response to the mockery I'm sure this clip engendered.

[a few moments later]

Here is a video that covers the general response. And the kitchen goddess herself tweeted:

As for me, I mock not. After all, she was making mashed potatoes!

The Retirement of Fara Williams

 

2016 Williams corner for Arsenal at Meadow Lane

The footballer Fara Williams announced her retirement today. She has one of the great sporting stories. You can get the stats here, but suffice it to know that she was homeless for six years during the early part of her career, and ended up with the most caps ever (172) for England, having played in 3 World Cups and Team GB at the 2012 Olympics.

2015 corner for Liverpool vs Arsenal at Meadow Lane

I was glad when she played for a team I supported, and thank her for the hard work she always put in, as well as the football joy I got from watching the matches. I understand she is now studying for coaching qualifications and doing media work. Wishing her well for this next chapter!

Piglet Retrospective XIII

This post is part of the Piglet Retrospective, but it is also representing comfort food. My grandmother's grandmother came from Minsk, the potato capital of all the Russias. I love potatoes in all shapes and recipes. I believe that potato is probably part of my DNA. And so, when driving through Wyoming, I felt compelled to visit Devils Tower. I did not pay the $10 entry fee to the park, because what I really wanted was this view. And what does it have to do with potatoes? 

Ha-mayvin ya-vin.

Nu, the tower plays a prominent part in Steven Spielberg's movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", an old favourite of mine. So I went to have a look, and Piglet posed.

Remembering Rita Levi Montalcini

Outside Italy, and the scientific world, you may not have heard of Rita Levi Montalcini. I certainly had not until I came here. She was born today, 112 years ago. She was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (jointly with her colleague Stanley Cohen) for discovering the nerve growth factor (NGF), the importance of which may be explained here. She was the first Nobel laureate to live to be 100 years old and actually lived to the age of 103. The main details of her life are recorded here.

In an interview in 2010, Viviana Kasam asked Dr Levi Montalcini what was the greatest satisfaction in her life. She replied, "The relationship with young people ... Being able to pass on what I know, to learn from them, to discover something new. This is what keeps me alive, the daily miracle of my existence."

Auguri Rita!

RIP Walter Mondale

Today we heard the news that Walter Mondale has died in Minneapolis at the age of 93. 

I have posted an image of this poster to recall that my first ever vote as an adult was in 1984, and I voted Mondale/Ferraro. I took that election very seriously, listening to the views of all the candidates on all the issues that were important to me. I chose these candidates, and they suffered one of the greatest losses in the history of Presidential elections. I remember seeing my father's tears after McGovern lost in 1972, but McGovern got 17 electoral votes and Mondale got 13. I think Alf Landon got 8 versus FDR in 1936, but can't find anything worse than that. 

The poster stayed on my bedroom wall at university for the rest of the year. Hey, I am a QPR fan - losing doesn't mean I stop loving you!

My thanks for your service, Vice-President Mondale, and my condolences to all who loved you. May you rest in peace.

 

Piglet Retrospective XII

 

It has been rather a while since we went on a trip to see friends and did anything touristy. It may yet be another while before we can do it again. Meanwhile, as the new James Bond movie prepares to open, the trailers show that they filmed some scenes in the town of Matera. Let's just say that Piglet got there first.

Do You Believe in God?

I've been in a bit of a fog for the past few weeks. No need to discuss why - I'm sure each of us has had much to deal with in our own situations as this time of Covid continues its journey into the unknown. We all seek support and comfort in our own way. One of my go-to responses is reading what my peers are posting on social media. Earlier this week I saw this tweet from my colleague Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg:

Clearly my title and profession suggest that I am likely to be one of those who believe in God (although that question was never asked at any point in the interview process for rabbinical school. Nor was it part of any required course that I took over 5 years of classes. It did come up in one elective class - homiletics - and 40% of the students did not return for the rest of the course, having been challenged on what God was for them). 

I am also aware that many of my friends consider religious beliefs to be at the core of so many problems in the world today. 

TheRaDR captures it in a nutshell - the traditional Western perspective of an "Angry Sky Daddy". Succinctly put. I might add also some kind of Superhero that one expects to swoop down in his cape and save the day when things get out of hand. It is a religious icon that's embedded in our secular culture, and we rarely think about it or question it. We either accept it or reject it.

For me, those are perspectives of a child. We may be the Children of Israel (or possibly the Teenagers of Israel by now), but we need to grow up. One of the big decisions facing us as the fog lifts is:  what are WE going to DO NOW? It is clear in so many ways what has gone wrong, and  if we want post-pandemic life to be any better than the path that led us to this moment, the responsibility is on us to make some changes.

So I will come right out and say it. If God does not exist, then the onus is on us, only on us, for who or what else is there? And if God does exist, and placed us in this world to care for it and each other, then the responsibility is just as clear:  the problems that we have are the consequences of our actions, and we have to fix things. This is the freedom that we received at Pesach, and continue to hold so dear.

My job has never been about persuading anyone regarding the existence of a Deity. I am trying to learn about how relationships work, how to develop strong and healthy ones, and sharing what I've learned with others so that we can DO something positive in our lives. Do you believe in God? None of my business. All I care about is that you find the support and strength, in whichever way works for you, so you can join in the work of tikkun olam. 

Shabbat shalom!

 

A Cagney & Lacey Passover

My love for the tv cop show "Cagney & Lacey" is boundless, so I was rather happy to come across this tweet today of the two actresses celebrating Pesach with a Seder last week.

And then I remembered the time I encountered Al Waxman, who played their boss at the 14th Precinct. I was living and working in Toronto. I'd had a night of insomnia, and had kept going by watching back-to-back-to-back-to-back episodes of the show. I was leading the Torah service in the morning, for a Bar/t Mitzvah. Mr Waxman had an aliyah, and when he was done I congratulated him, "Mazeltov Lieutenant!" I wasn't making a joke about the show, I was so sleep-deprived that I thought I was in it. Such fun.

It's After Noon So Now I'm Serious

According to the QI Elves "No Such Thing as a Fish" podcast, episode 72, there is a museum in North Korea that has a scaled-down replica of the world's largest table.

I have tried to follow the links given and also asked R. Google, but to no avail. Can anyone confirm this to be a fact? 

Grazie.